1. Technical Field
The present invention relates to recording apparatuses that include a mechanism that adjusts a distance between a recording medium and a recording head. The recording apparatuses described herein may include, for example, ink jet printers, copying machines and facsimile machines.
2. Related Art
Recording apparatuses generally include a carriage that is movable in a scan direction of a recording head which is mounted on the underside of the carriage and is configured to eject ink onto a recording surface of a recording medium. Some types of recording apparatuses perform recording on the recording medium such as an envelop, a thick paper sheet and an optical disk as well as a plain paper.
Since various recording media have different thicknesses, a distance between the recording head and the recording surface of the recording medium varies depending on the thickness of the recording medium, and the distance between the recording head and a supporting surface of the recording medium needs to be changed accordingly. JP-A-2010-23501 discloses the recording apparatus that is configured to move the carriage in a direction in which the distance is adjusted between the recording head and the supporting surface of the recording medium depending on the type of the recording medium.
The recording apparatus includes a sliding section that moves with the carriage in the scan direction. The sliding section is configured to be in direct contact with and slide on a guide section. The recording apparatus further includes a distance control member between the sliding section and the carriage. The distance control member is configured to change the thickness in the direction in which the distance is adjusted across the scan direction.
The recording apparatus further includes a switching section that slides the distance control member in the scan direction. The switching section is configured to extend and retract through an opening on the guide section in an area in which the distance control member slides. Further, the distance control member has a protrusion on the surface that opposes the switching section.
The recording apparatus is configured to adjust the distance between the recording head and the supporting surface of the recording medium by moving the distance control member relative to the carriage in the scan direction and by moving the carriage in the direction in which the distance is adjusted.
In the recording apparatus, during adjustment of the distance, the distance control member moves relative to the carriage in the scan direction while the distance control member moves relative to the sliding section in the direction in which the distance is adjusted. As the distance control member moves in the direction in which the distance is adjusted, the protrusion also moves in the direction in which the distance is adjusted. Since the position of the protrusion in the direction in which the distance is adjusted varies depending on the distance, it has been necessary that the switching section that engages the protrusion has a large engagement surface that engages the protrusion which is large in the direction in which the distance is adjusted.
However, with the engagement surface of the switching section which is large in the direction in which the distance is adjusted, a large opening of the guide rail is also necessary. This may reduce the rigidity of the guide rail. As a result, when the carriage moves in the scan direction, the carriage may be displaced in the direction in which the distance is adjusted due to deformation of the guide rail, which causes a problem in maintaining a constant distance, leading to a decreased quality of recording. In addition, since the size of the switching section is large, the other components should be positioned so as not to interfere with an operation of the switching section, which causes the recording apparatus to be large-sized.